


| c o m b a t |

by stanuris



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Keith Week 2016, M/M, anyways this is mostly about keith with a tiny bit of klance, anywyas, implied that theyre gay, its like, keith week, let me live, listen im gay and i love keith a lot hes perfect and
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-28
Updated: 2016-09-28
Packaged: 2018-08-18 07:07:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8153344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stanuris/pseuds/stanuris
Summary: Keith tightens his grip on his sword, and takes a breath.
--
Caught in combat, Keith passes out for a few moments. That short amount of time feels like an eternity, and a million thoughts race through his mind.





	

**Author's Note:**

> one-shot for keith week! let me know what you think.  
> this isn't really klance-based: i might continue it eventually and add some Gay Shit into it but it's mostly just about keith and him having some self-resolution and working through some emotions.

| c o m b a t |

 

Keith crouches behind a cracked pillar, trying to steady his shaking hands and quiet his breathing. He can’t let himself be seen, be heard, be noticed. He jumps, startled by a scream in the distance. There’s a shouted _“No!”_ in the distance, Lance’s familiar voice breaking on the simple word. A loud crash, followed by a snap, fills Keith’s ears. His eyes widen in horror as a familiar blue blaster skids across the floor.

Keith tightens his grip on his sword, and takes a breath.

He steps out from behind the pillar with an inhuman-sounding war cry, running at the enemy soldiers.

His hands are slippery from sweat, fingers shaking with terror. His footing slips, he tumbles to the ground without any of his practiced grace, frantically rolling away from enemy blades.

He feels the familiar warmth of his own blood around him, his mind barely registering the sharp pain in his side. Fading from consciousness, Keith tells himself that he’s okay with things ending like this.

 

He’s not.

 

\------------

 

Keith’s first thought is that he’s dead.

He’s not, of course- that’d be ridiculous. He has things to do still.

Keith’s hands ball into fists at his sides before he opens his eyes. He mentally prepares himself for any of the things that might be happening right now, and makes a list in his head.

He could’ve been captured be a Galra fleet, and could be currently held hostage somewhere far from home. His fellow paladins could all be dead, and he could be bleeding out on the floor of the alien ship, living out his last moments in numbed darkness. He could be dead already, and this could be what his existence is like now- Keith could be doomed to nothingness forever. Oh boy. Instead of dwelling on that thought any longer, Keith opens his eyes.

Or, rather, he tries to.

Upon realizing that he can’t, Keith swallows the panic bubbling up in his throat, focusing on happy memories. It’s all he can do to latch onto his sanity, so he focuses on feelings.

The warmth of spring, teetering on the edge of summer. Flowers and weeds mixing together in the soil just outside his window, the smell of dirt and nectar filling the desert air.

Keith thinks about the family he used to have. Keith remembers the warmth of his mom’s arms, the way the whole house would smell like coconut on early weekend mornings, he remembers the way the water from his showerhead felt against his skin. He remembers the way he never wanted anything to change, the way everything felt perfect and safe and nice and good and warm and soft and-

Keith feels a tear rolling down his cheek.

He wants to go home.

Keith reaches out to a family that’s not there anymore, to a house long gone. He reaches for a past that’s all but faded from his memory, for some feeling of security and comfort.

His mind wanders to Lance.

He thinks of the annoying blue paladin, who’s always seeming to pick a fight. He thinks of the loud-mouthed boy who can’t seem to do _anything_ the same way Keith would. He thinks about how Lance’s laugh is loud and boisterous, how Lance never seems afraid of the space he takes up. He thinks about how much he wishes he could be like that.

He remembers the endless fights with Lance, yelling and arguing over tiny, unimportant things. Keith thinks about how much he didn’t really mind all that noise, but more the silence that came after those fights.

Keith remembers those times when he would panic.

So far from Earth, so far from the safe, familiar comfort of his makeshift home in the desert. So far off in space, that he could look around for lightyears and nothing he’d see would be anything he’d seen before. He felt so small, those times. Everything felt too big, and Keith felt so overwhelmed.

Those times seemed to be the only times he could talk to Lance without arguing. Curling into his arms, sobbing into his chest, feeling safe and comforted by Lance’s steady heartbeat and soft breathing. Lance reminding him that while everything was different, some things would stay the same.

Their team would always be together. He’d always have friends.

Their team would always be together.

Keith wasn’t so sure that was the case anymore.

What would happen if they weren’t together anymore?

Keith knows he couldn’t handle that. He imagines the ship without Lance’s loud laughter. Walking down into the kitchen without hearing Hunk humming while he made a meal for the other paladins. Keith stopped himself in the middle of picturing Pidge’s workspace- all the miscellaneous tools and gadgets scattered over their desk, but not having been touched or moved in weeks. Everything felt lonely, in this what-if situation. Keith couldn’t bear the thought of it anymore, tears rolling down his cheeks one after the other.

Keith would miss Pidge. He’d miss their puns, and their creative solutions to any situation. He’d miss their laughter, their jokes, their presence. There’d be a hole in his heart where Pidge should be.

Keith would miss Shiro, his protectiveness, his calming aura even amidst a crisis. He’d miss Shiro’s kind voice, and the training lesson’s they’d have late at night. He’d miss the only familiar face from back on Earth. He’d miss his old friend.

Keith would miss Hunk, although he never got the chance to get to know him as well as he’d have liked to. He’d miss Hunk’s warmth, his kindness, his generosity and gentle demeanor. He wishes he’d be able to tell him how much he appreciated him.

Keith thought of Allura, of Coran, of the Balmerans, of everything he had left to do.

Keith would miss that. Keith would miss the feeling of being worthy, of making a difference.

…Keith doesn’t want to admit it, but he’d miss Lance. He’d miss that stubborn, loud, obnoxious, rambunctious _dweeb_ any and every second he wouldn’t have him by his side.

Keith knows they fought, and fought a lot.

Keith knows that when they got along, it never lasted.

But he doesn’t care, because he loves- loved? - seeing Lance’s expressions. He loved knowing that he was the one who made Lance feel like that, made him smile like that. He loved knowing it was his fault.

He liked talking to Lance, he really, truly did. He knows he won’t be able to do that again.

He knows, now, that there’s something he has to do. Something he can’t forgive himself for never taking to opportunity to do.

Keith closes his eyes.

 

\------------

 

When he opens them again, everything hurts. It’s loud, it’s bright, there are flashes and pain and everything feels way, way too much.

It’s too much. But Keith looks around, seeing his bayard nearby and reaching for it instinctively. He pulls himself to his feet, ignoring the searing pain his muscles put up in protest. He moves. He launches his injured self towards the Galra he’s facing, and yells some incoherent _something_ that loosely resembles a battle cry.

If there’s anything Keith isn’t willing to lose, it’s his friends. His family.

His life.

And he’s going to fight for it.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you guys for reading!! i'm @pontmercii on tumblr and instagram if you wanna give me a follow! comment and let me know what you thought c: hope y'all are having a good day!


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